Here are 100 books that The Stray Spirit fans have personally recommended if you like
The Stray Spirit.
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I’ve been drawn to LGBT+ characters and themes long before I knew that was a thing that a person could be—and longer still before I realized that it was something that might apply to me. Science fiction and fantasy helped me to explore identities and ways of existing within the world that were fundamentally different from my own and that instilled a love of the genre that I’ll always treasure.
I like to think I’m pretty good at guessing where a book is going to go—this is not the case with Gideon the Ninth. Every time I thought I had a grip on what was going on and where we were going, it took a turn. Every time I thought I had an idea of how I felt about a character, new lore dropped, and I fell in love (or in hate, or in a complicated love/hate thing that I have yet to figure out).
By the time I finished, I was torn between picking up the second book in the series to learn what happened next or rereading the first just to see how different it would be once I had a better understanding of the book.
15+ pages of new, original content, including a glossary of terms, in-universe writings, and more!
A USA Today Best-Selling Novel!
"Unlike anything I've ever read. " --V.E. Schwab
"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" --Charles Stross
"Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through." --NPR
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as…
Fantasy has always been a passion and an escape for me. It started with copious amounts of reading, then I found anime when I was only a child as Cardcaptors began to air on TV. I’ve watched hundreds of anime shows since then and continued my penchant for reading and writing almost exclusively in the fantasy genre. In college, I obtained a BA in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing, so I have a good grasp on literature analysis and many works. In addition, I studied Japanese for two years, lived in Japan for six months, and held a position at the anime club while I was in college.
I loved the magical girl reminiscent transformations in this book mixed with a dark story. I’ve always had a fondness for the genre, and this book gave me a mix of Shugo Chara and Madoka Magica vibes. As a demisexual, I also really felt seen from all of the asexual spectrum representation in the main cast. I am a character first writer, so I loved the large cast and how insanely compelling each character and their backstory was. Every personality is so unique it bursts off the page, which is what really drew me into this book and made it my favorite novel of all time. The aesthetics also really help, since the flashier the magic the better in my opinion.
A girl full of heart A thief touched by darkness A boy with a fiery temper An unwitting servant of evil
The era of magic was once thought to be a myth, but after the Reemergenceushered forces both dark and light into the mundane world, it has sincebecome a harsh reality. Now those affected by this strange power—aspecialized group of Empowered called Jokers, known collectively asCardplay—must protect their world from the darkness that threatens toconsume it, all the while fighting for equality in a society clinging to normalcy.
Fantasy has always been a passion and an escape for me. It started with copious amounts of reading, then I found anime when I was only a child as Cardcaptors began to air on TV. I’ve watched hundreds of anime shows since then and continued my penchant for reading and writing almost exclusively in the fantasy genre. In college, I obtained a BA in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing, so I have a good grasp on literature analysis and many works. In addition, I studied Japanese for two years, lived in Japan for six months, and held a position at the anime club while I was in college.
Evermore has an anime-level mystical other world with copious drama and shenanigans afoot. There are strained friendships, romance, death-defying endeavors, and more. Who doesn’t love a good immortal chasing after his love through different lifetimes? I appreciate that the MC isn’t a damsel in distress even with the romance-heavy lean of the book. There’s plenty of mystery and action with the MC’s ability to see spirits and auras as she tries to discern the strange things happening around her. I have so much love for themes of life and death. I can see parallels between this book and the anime The Ancient Magus Bride. Both involve not-so-distant other worlds and a protagonist who has shut herself away for her gifts falling in love with an immortal.
Don't miss Evermore, the first book in Alyson Noël's #1 New York Times bestselling The Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world where true love never dies. . .
After a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who…
Fantasy has always been a passion and an escape for me. It started with copious amounts of reading, then I found anime when I was only a child as Cardcaptors began to air on TV. I’ve watched hundreds of anime shows since then and continued my penchant for reading and writing almost exclusively in the fantasy genre. In college, I obtained a BA in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing, so I have a good grasp on literature analysis and many works. In addition, I studied Japanese for two years, lived in Japan for six months, and held a position at the anime club while I was in college.
Valiant is a great example of why I love the morally gray so much. Like in many anime, the characters are all shown to be dysfunctional to some degree and really stand by their choices with a good amount of agency that I adore. The MC’s loss and addiction make her a relatable lead as she struggles to navigate this dark, mysterious underworld she has ended up in. As with the anime Kakegurui, her and her friends’ addictions skew their judgment and make everyone susceptible to influence if they can get what they desire. The love interest was my favorite part of this book. He is rough, but he knows what he’s talking about and helps guide the MC to a better path.
A companion novel to Tithe, from bestselling author Holly Black!
When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.
But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are…
I’m of Indian ethnicity and Japanese nationality, so it felt natural to write a book that drew inspiration from both cultures without being adjacent to either one. Like me, my book is a mixed bag. It features an original mythology with a unique religion and mythical beasts that you’ve (hopefully) never seen before. It’s also pretty heavy on themes and tries to provide some context to questions that baffled me as a kid: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do war and violence exist? I can’t say that I’ve answered those questions, but I hope I’ve provided a multifaceted perspective into the conversation around them.
My favorite aspect of this book was the concept of a crime coefficient: a numerical measure of how likely a person is to commit a crime. Punishments are meted out preemptively based on this. I found it a fascinating concept, especially in the context of karma, which also explores the idea of violence at a thought level (it does not delve into karma, but it is a personal interest of mine).
Overall, this had some solid and unique themes around ethics and justice—as well as really interesting worldbuilding, centered around this idea of a non-human (and thus ‘unbiased’) system judging humanity for their sins. I should note that this manga came after the anime—so the anime is the original work.
Anime and manga have always been the biggest influences on my own writing, from the drastic tonal shifts and bizarre scenarios to the frenetic pacing and strange characters. Underdogs fighting tooth and nail against increasingly overwhelming foes in a perpetual struggle to take the slightest step forward—those are the characters I relate to, the stories I want to tell.
This is a book that wears its anime influence on its sleeve quite literally, as the back cover states “for fans of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Akira, and Cyberpunk 2077.”
For storytellers, this could be used as a bible for grand worldbuilding and epic fight scenes condensed into minimalist, cinematic prose. An insanely fun read that keeps the pedal smashed to the floor beginning to end.
Kentaro was the best assassin in Cyclone City, a sweaty cyberpunk metropolis in the heart of a future bombed-out America. That is, until he got a full memory wipe. Emerging from the isolation of a monastery, he resumes his life as a killer, attempting to unravel the mystery of who he is, and why he'd have chosen to erase his past.
Sasuke is a bodyguard for a prominent preacher. His boss has run afoul of the all-powerful corporations, who have sent a small army of punks and off-duty cops out for his head. In…
An ambitious orphan. A ruthless warlord. An impossible destiny.
Arya Nameless is a lowly Raider posted to an isolated fort in the most dangerous place in Dunidaen. She has few prospects, and as much as she loves her fellow soldiers, she burns for more—more control, more autonomy, more power.
When…
Anime and manga have always been the biggest influences on my own writing, from the drastic tonal shifts and bizarre scenarios to the frenetic pacing and strange characters. Underdogs fighting tooth and nail against increasingly overwhelming foes in a perpetual struggle to take the slightest step forward—those are the characters I relate to, the stories I want to tell.
Through a masterfully balanced blend of straightforward and poetic prose, the late counter-cultural figure Izumi Suzuki depicts raw humanity against proto-cyberpunk landscapes.
People are transplanted into others’ dreams, interstellar border politics are navigated by junkies, and aliens roleplay as human in a world left to ruin. The mix of high emotion and high weirdness that makes the best anime is present in every story of this book.
On a planet where men are contained in ghettoised isolation, women enjoy the fruits of a queer matriarchal utopia -- until a boy escapes and a young woman's perception of the world is violently interupted. Two old friends enjoy cocktails on a holiday resort planet where all is not as it seems. A bickering couple emigrate to a world that has worked out an innovative way to side-step the need for war, only to bring their quarrels (and something far more destructive) with them. And in the title story, Suzuki offers readers a tragic and warped mirroring of her own…
Anime and manga have always been the biggest influences on my own writing, from the drastic tonal shifts and bizarre scenarios to the frenetic pacing and strange characters. Underdogs fighting tooth and nail against increasingly overwhelming foes in a perpetual struggle to take the slightest step forward—those are the characters I relate to, the stories I want to tell.
There’s a point in countless anime fight scenes where characters engaged in combat are moving so fast, the background becomes nothing but harsh pencil strokes drawn from one corner of the frame to the other. Black Gypsies contains many scenes with this level of frenetic energy. A fast, pulpy thrill ride that is equal parts colorful, gritty, and sexy.
Marcus is a certified Jackboy on the streets of Chicago, stealing car parts with his best friend Gordo to sell at the local junkyard. It's all another day in the life, with his mom on his ass and a bad bitch on his mind being the most of his troubles. That is, until the Jackboys hit a lick on the wrong gangster, trapping themselves in a debt that can only be bought out in blood.
Love, poetry, lean…and a whole lotta gang shit...
“BLACK GYPSIES is a fresh slice of classic underground crime fiction, gritty and grimy,…
Anime and manga have always been the biggest influences on my own writing, from the drastic tonal shifts and bizarre scenarios to the frenetic pacing and strange characters. Underdogs fighting tooth and nail against increasingly overwhelming foes in a perpetual struggle to take the slightest step forward—those are the characters I relate to, the stories I want to tell.
The world in this book feels of a time both ancient and unfathomably far into the future.
This, along with the marriage of supernatural elements and science fiction—not to mention oddball characters, hypersexuality, and intense swordfights—make Howl a definitive title of “anime literature.”
Lady Agova, the glass-jawed mystic giantess who guides our protagonists through the dangerous cybergoth landscape, is as iconic as Goku or Naruto and belongs on just as many bedroom wall posters.
Born the half-breed, bastard son of an orc chieftain, Wrank tries to survive life in OrcHome among ignorance and spite aimed at his human heritage even as he develops a Talent for folding shadow. When life is no longer viable among the clans, he escapes into the world of humans…
Anime and manga have always been the biggest influences on my own writing, from the drastic tonal shifts and bizarre scenarios to the frenetic pacing and strange characters. Underdogs fighting tooth and nail against increasingly overwhelming foes in a perpetual struggle to take the slightest step forward—those are the characters I relate to, the stories I want to tell.
The story takes place within a 12-hour time frame, in which our protagonist—fresh out of prison—must navigate cosmic horrors and old habits on his way to the halfway house.
The whole time, we as the reader are given in-depth historical and cultural insight into the city of Baltimore. The classic “first day out” narrative is given an anime-flavored spin with the inclusion of mech battles, mysterious gimp-suited beings, and eldritch gods.
In Baltimore, Worm has just returned from a two year stretch in prison. When he finds out that his hometown is being brutally destroyed by a dangerous new chemical, Worm is reluctantly catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with chaos and destruction. Can one man save the city before his 9:00 p.m. curfew at the halfway house?
…
“Ghosts of East Baltimore is like The Wire meets Bloodborne directed by Takashi Miike. The wildest time I had reading a book in recent memory.” - J. David Osborne, author of Black Gum and Our Blood…
